DEVISTATED-BAD HIPS - Page 1

I am so upset! I went to a reputible breeder, checked lines, etc, everything you are supposed to do including a good diet and limited excercise and look at this! My vet said these are the worst hips he has ever seen...he recommended hip replacement, but I don't have thousands to do this. My dog just turned 2 and I was shocked at these xrays! My girl is very thin, runs around like a speed demon, races up and down the steps and has an awesome gait. I just don't understand it. I called the breeder and she was just as shocked...she did offer me half of my money back or another pup, not from the same lines. Has anyone had something similar. Thanks for letting me vent. http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii225/pinkxx_02/Evishipxray.jpg

yeah the hips don't look good. Sorry - puppies are a crap shoot and even with two sound parents with good hips you can get problems - usually not, but it can happen. That's why there are guarantees. Good that your dogs' breeder is honoring the hip guarantee. 1/2 back purchase price or replacement pup is a normal and fair offer for the breeder to make. It's never fun for anyone to have the news that the pup has bad hips - the breeder can be just as upset as the owner and of course it's not good news for the dog either. Keep in mind that if she is sound and moving well at 2 years old, she may very well continue to be sound/healthy for a long time to come. Knowing her hips are not good, you can work on keeping her very lean, restricting her exercise to normal, non-pounding and no jumping, and giving her joint supplements to hopefully keep her going strong for years to come. I would not jump into surgery unless she was showing pain or restricted movement now. molly

I think what we all forget is that we're not dealing with a sure thing. Hip ratings, ZW scores, A stamps etc, are there to *reduce* the change of bad hips, but nature sometimes throws a curve ball despite all other efforts. Sounds like the breeder is standing behind the pup (that is a typical offer for a bad hip pup) and that is all you ask for. My question is regarding the limited exercise, by this did you limit her jumping, her running on hard surfaces, or ALL exercise? I ask as I've seen posted here recently that condition of the dog (more muscle equals tighter hips) and I'm wondering what exercise you dog was getting. Re. the hip replacment - I don't know about this but have been told not to worry about it until the dog shows pain or discomfort. The hip replacment WILL limit the dog (it'll never be 100%) and even with a replacment artritis will eventually set in. So I guess the thinking is that as lomg as the dog seems fine, why mess with things and make it not fine? Thanks and I'm sorry for you dogs condition :( -Calvin

I'm so sorry Pink! If she is as agile as you say then she may not have a problem until she gets older. Enjoy her until then. The exray is not perfectly straight, but there still is no doubt that she is dysplastic. As much as anyone tries to do their best for hip background, something like this can still crop up. Sounds like you did all the right things raising her too. It is really hard to take and I pray that you have many many good years with her! Sincerely, Debby ebinezer052899@yahoo.com http://castlebrookshepherds.net

hello, I just want to let you know i had an imported female gsd that we titled to sch1 in 1981. She was superb, many people wanted pups from her. She started moving a little 'off' when we began running the four blinds. She was diagnosed with 'severe HD' the vet said he was surprised she could still walk ok. That lovely lady dog lived to be 14 yrs old. Quality life: swimming, going with us for horseback rides and lots of fun playing ball. She was sound on those old hips until she was 12 when we first noticed some gait deficit. You quite possibly have many many great years ahead of her, active ones at that! Good Luck! cindy

You have been told some very good information. Its nice to see the breeder standing behind her dog. This is bothersome for the breeder. We forget that we are dealing with mother nature. Some things we just can't control. HD is a genetic predisposition which can be made worse by environmental factors. From everything you have said about your dog I don't think they know they have HD. Keep them exercising and don't tell them what the Vet said. Kyle

Pink, I'm sorry for your hurt, worry and lost dreams. You may want to read this other thread about Quality of Life w/ HD http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/153824.html#154753 It's good that your girl is active and full of it. You maybe lucky and she may not ever show symptoms so please do not rush into the operation ( as I said in the other thread - dogs don't read xrays). It looks like she has good mucscling as well which will help. My biggest concern is that one side is worse than the other and already shows a bit less muscle mass on that side. It might be worth your while to talk to a canine physiatrist ( specialist in physical medicine - human equivalent would probably be a sports medicine specialist) to see if there are excerises you could do with her to build back the muscle on that side as the better muscling the less problems she will have. Even tho it is hard to see thru your pain right now, take a deep breath and calm down. From those of us who have been there before, let us tell you there is a very good chance that you and she will enjoy a long good life together. Please keep us posted on how you do. We wish you a good outcome. Beth

So, as has been said many times before on this site: 1) Have her spayed, or do not breed her. 2) Keep her weight down. 3) Give joint supplements 4) Avoid really hard impact exercises, such as jumping, and she may stay sound to a ripe old age! My mom has a 13 yr. old English Springer Spaniel, diagnosed with dysplasia in one hip at 2 yrs. of age. He's now 13, and having a little trouble with stairs, etc, but otherwise not doing too bad, in spite of having been on epilepsy medication throughout most of his life. (This medication is very hard on the kidneys and liver, and is supposed to shorten the lifespan.) It is not unusual to find a dysplastic dog that is functionally sound. That's how dysplasia got so well established in the breed before the days of x-rays and OFA. In her book on the development of the Shiloh Shepherd breed, Tina Barber reports having paid $4,000 for a purebred German import puppy. She was doing Schutzhund 3 exercises with him, including the 6 foot scaling wall, when the vet called to tell her the dog's hips were completely out of the hip sockets (Grade 3 dysplasia)! Some of these dogs must have pain thresholds that are right off the scale...

Thanks everyone for all the encouraging words! It makes me feel a bit better, plus, my girl sure does not know she has bad hips! In answer to the question about exercise, we were careful about her running on hard surfaces and jumping when she was a pup...my only concern was, that we have 2 other dogs that she ran and played with quite a bit. I am wondering if this contributed to it? We took her swimming alot, too. I fed her the raw diet and supplemented with large breed puppy food. Other than that, I sure hope it was nothing I did. Again, thanks for all your kind comments, we wanted to breed her, but, no go on that one. We sure love and enjoy this personality plus gsd. Thanks again and happy holidays to everyone!

I am so Sorry Pink, I think the Vet's Comment might have also hit hard. These are not the worst Hips I have seem. http://www.liv.ac.uk/vets_med_images/sath/conditions/hip_dysplasia_xray.jpg